November 4
Events *1501 - Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's wife) meets Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother - they would later marry. *1576 - Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captures Antwerp (after three days the city was nearly destroyed). *1677 - The future Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange. They would later be known as William and Mary. *1737 - The Teatro di San Carlo is inaugurated. *1825 - The Erie Canal is completed with Governor DeWitt Clinton performing the Wedding of The Waters ceremony in New York Harbour. *1839 – The Newport Rising is the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain. *1852 - Count Camillo Benso di Cavour becomes the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expands to become Italy. *1861 - The University of Washington opens in Seattle, Washington as the Territorial University *1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Johnsonville - Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars in material. *1869 - The first issue of the scientific journal Nature is published. *1889 - Menelek of Shoa obtains the allegiance of a large majority of the Ethiopian nobility, paving the way for him to be crowned emperor. *1890 - City & South London Railway: London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell. *1899 - Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published. *1918 - World War I: Austria-Hungary surrenders to Italy. * 1918 - The German Revolution begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel. *1921 - The Sturmabteilung or SA is formally formed by Adolf Hitler * 1921 - Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi is assassinated in Tokyo. * 1921 - Italian unknown soldier is buried in the Altare della Patria ( Fatherland Altar ) in Rome. *1922 - In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. *1924 - Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected as the first female governor in the United States. *1924 - Calvin Coolidge is elected the twenty-ninth President of the United States of America. *1927 - Frank Heath and his horse Gypsy Queen return to Washington, having completed a two-year journey of 11,356 miles to all 48 states. *1928 - Arnold Rothstein, New York City's most notorious gambler, is shot dead over a poker game. *1939 - World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents. *1942 - World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein - Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel leads his forces on a five-month retreat. *1945 - UNESCO is founded. *1948 - T. S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in Literature. *1952 - The United States government establishes the National Security Agency. *1952 - Dwight David Eisenhower is elected the thirty-fourth President of the United States of America. *1955 - The rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio after it was totally destroyed in World War II. *1956 - Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country. *1960 - Filming wraps on The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable -- the last film for both. *1962 - In a test of the Nike-Hercules air defense missile, Shot Dominic-Tightrope is successfully detonated 69,000 feet above Johnston Island. It would also be the final atmospheric nuclear test ever conducted by the United States. *1966 - Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the Arno rivers flood; considering also the contemporary flood of Po River in northern Italy, 113 people die, 30,000 are rendered homeless, and numerous Renaissance artworks and books are destroyed. *1970 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The United States turns control of the Binh Thuy Air Base in the Mekong Delta over to South Vietnam. * 1970 - Genie, a 13 year old feral child was found in Los Angeles having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life. *1979 - Iran hostage crisis begins: Iranian people, mostly students, invade the United States embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages (53 of whom are American). *1980 - Ronald Wilson Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States of America. *1984 - Dell is founded. * 1984 - Sandinista Front wins the elections in Nicaragua. *1986 - Chief Justice Rose Bird and two colleagues are removed by the electorate from the Supreme Court of California for their opposition to capital punishment. *1989 - The congress of the Solidarity Party is inaugurated in Sweden. The congress decides, contrary to the proposal of the central committee, not to disband the party. *1993 - Jean Chrétien takes office as Prime Minister of Canada. * 1993 - Bolivia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. * 1993 - A series of fires destroy 1000 homes in southern California, causing between 500 million and 1 billion USD of damage. Half of the fires turn out to be arson. * 1993 - A China Airlines Boeing 747 overran Runway 13 at Hong Kong's Kai Tak International Airport while landing during a typhoon, injuring 22 people. *1994 - San Francisco: First conference that focusses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web. *1995 - Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an extreme right-wing Israeli. *2001 - Hurricane Michelle hits Cuba, destroying crops and thousands of homes. * 2001 - The Police Service of Northern Ireland is established. *2002 - Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress *2003 - The most powerful solar flare as observed by satellite instrumentation is recorded. * 2003 - Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy becomes the first person indicted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He was eventually acquitted. *2004 - 12 French soldiers, 3 UN personnel and hundreds of civilians die during the Côte d'Ivoire civil war. Births *1448 - King Alphonso II of Naples (d. 1495) *1470 - King Edward V of England, one of the two princes in the Tower *1575 - Guido Reni, Italian painter (d. 1642) *1631 - Mary of Orange, eldest daughter of Charles I of England and mother of William III of England (d. 1660) *1661 - Karl III Philip (d. 1742) *1740 - Augustus Montague Toplady, English author of hymn "Rock of Ages" (d. 1778) *1765 - Pierre Girard, French mathematician (d. 1836) *1809 - Benjamin Robbins Curtis, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1874) *1816 - Stephen Johnson Field, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1899) *1836 - Henry J. Lutcher, American businessman (d. 1912) *1845 - Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (d. 1883) *1868 - Carolina Otero, a.k.a La Belle Otero, Spanish actress, singer and courtesan (d. 1965) *1874 - Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (d. 1920) *1879 - Will Rogers, American humorist (d. 1935) *1883 - Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general (d. 1953) *1884 - Harry Ferguson, Northern Irish aviator and inventor (d. 1960) *1890 - Alfred Henschke, ps. Klabund, German writer and poet (d. 1928) *1899 - Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourgish cyclist (d. 1985) *1900 - Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Romanian communist activist and sociologist (d. 1954) *1901 - Princess Bang-ja of Korea (d. 1989) * 1901 - Spyridon Marinatos, Greek archaeologist (d. 1974) *1904 - Tadeusz Żyliński, Polish technician and textilist (d. 1967) *1908 - Józef Rotblat, Polish physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2005) * 1908 - Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (d. 1997) *1909 - Skeeter Webb, American baseball player (d. 1986) * 1909 - Bert Patenaude, American soccer player (d. 1974) *1912 - Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (d. 1978) *1913 - Gig Young, American actor (d. 1978) *1916 - Walter Cronkite, American news broadcaster *1918 - Art Carney, American actor (d. 2003) * 1918 - Cameron Mitchell, American actor (d. 1994) *1919 - Martin Balsam, American actor (d. 1996) *1922 - Benno Besson, Swiss actor (d. 2006) *1923 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch businessman (d. 2002) *1924 - Howie Meeker, Canadian ice hockey player and politician *1930 - Doris Roberts, American actress * 1930 - Dick Groat, American baseball player *1932 - Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (d. 2004) *1933 - Tito Francona, American baseball player *1936 - C. K. Williams, American poet *1937 - Loretta Swit, American actress * 1937 - Michael Wilson, Canadian politician *1940 - Delbert McClinton, American musician *1943 - Marlène Jobert, French actress * 1943 - Clark Graebner, American tennis player *1944 - Scherrie Payne, American singer (The Supremes) * 1944 - Linda Gary, American voice actress (d. 1995) *1946 - Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States * 1946 - Frederick Elmes, American cinematographer * 1946 - Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (d. 1989) *1950 - Charles Frazier, American author * 1950 - Markie Post, American actress *1951 - Traian Băsescu, President of Romania * 1951 - Cosey Fanni Tutti, English performance artist (Throbbing Gristle, Chris and Cosey) *1953 - Carlos Gutierrez, American politician * 1953 - Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian racing driver * 1953 - Dr. Marvel Williamson, American educator *1954 - Chris Difford, English musician and songwriter *1955 - Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland *1956 - Jordan Rudess, American musician (Dream Theater) * 1956 - James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist (The Pretenders) (d. 1982) *1960 - Marc Awodey, American artist and writer * 1960 - Frl. Menke, German pop singer of the Neue Deutsche Welle *1961 - Kathy Griffin, American comedian * 1961 - Daron Hagen, American composer * 1961 - Edward Knight, American composer * 1961 - Ralph Macchio, American actor * 1961 - Les Sampou, American musician * 1961 - Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer *1962 - Jeff Probst, American television host *1963 - Marc Déry, Québécois singer and guitarist (Zébulon) * 1963 - Rosario Flores, Spanish singer and actress * 1963 - Michel Therrien, Canadian ice hockey coach *1965 - Malandra Burrows, English actress and singer * 1965 - Tomoaki Ishizuka "Pata", Japanese musician * 1965 - Wayne Static, American musician (Static-X) * 1965 - Jeff Scott Soto, American musician (Yngwie Malmsteen Band, Journey) *1967 - Eric Karros, American baseball player *1968 - Carlos Baerga, Puerto Rican baseball player *1969 - Matthew McConaughey, American actor * 1969 - Sean "Diddy" Combs, American rapper *1972 - Luís Figo, Portuguese footballer * 1972 - Tabassum Hashmi, Indian actress *1974 - Cedric Bixler-Zavala, American musician (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta) *1975 - Eric Fichaud, Canadian ice hockey player * 1975 - Eduard Kokcharov, Russian handball player * 1975 - Curtis Stone, Australian chef and television personality * 1975 - Heather Tom, American actress *1976 - Bruno Junqueira, Brazilian racing driver * 1976 - Mario Melchiot, Dutch footballer *1977 - Larry Bigbie, American baseball player * 1977 - So Ji-sub, South Korean swimmer, model and actor *1978 - Carmen Cali, American baseball player * 1978 - John Grabow, American baseball player *1979 - Audrey Hollander, American pornographic actress * 1979 - Trishelle Cannatella, American reality tv castmember and model * 1979 - Jesse Camp, former MTV veejay *1980 - Marcy Rylan, American actress * 1980 - Jerry Collins, New Zealand rugby union footballer * 1980 - Richard Owens, American football player * 1980 - Sabrina Colie, Jamaican Actress * 1982 - Devin Hester, American football player *1985 - Marcell Jansen, German footballer *1986 - Alexz Johnson, Canadian singer and actress * 1986 - Adrian Zaugg, South African racing driver *1990 - Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Canadian actor Deaths *1254 - John III Ducas Vatatzes, Emperor of the Nicaea (b. circa 1192). *1411 - Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxonia (b. 1384) *1652 - Jean-Charles de la Faille, Flemish mathematician (b. 1597) *1669 - Johannes Cocceius, Dutch theologian (b. 1603) *1698 - Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician and mathematician (b. 1625) *1702 - John Benbow, English admiral (b. 1653) *1704 - Andreas Acoluthus, German orientalist (b. 1654) *1781 - Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet (b. 1721) *1801 - William Shippen, American physician and delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1712) *1847 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (b. 1809) *1856 - Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (b. 1797) *1893 - Pierre Tirard, French politician (b. 1827) *1906 - John H. Ketcham, American politician (b. 1832) *1918 - Wilfred Owen, English poet (b. 1893) *1924 - Gabriel Fauré, French composer (b. 1845) * 1924 - Richard Conner, American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient (b. 1843) *1928 - Arnold Rothstein, American gambler (b. 1882) *1930 - Buddy Bolden, American musician (b. 1877) *1950 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (b. 1887) *1955 - Cy Young, American baseball player (b. 1867) *1957 - Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith (b. 1897) *1968 - Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (b. 1892) *1974 - Bert Patenaude, American soccer player (b. 1909) *1980 - Elsie MacGill, Canadian aeronautical engineer (b. 1905) *1982 - Dominique Dunne, American actress (b. 1959) *1986 - Kurt Hirsch, German mathematician (b. 1906) *1987 - Shaike Ofir, Israeli actor (b. 1929) *1994 - Fred Sonic Smith, American guitar player MC5 (b. 1949) *1995 - Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli politician; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1922) * 1995 - Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (b. 1925) *1997 - H. Richard Hornberger, American writer (b. 1924) *1999 - Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian West Indies cricketer (b. 1958) *2003 - Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (b. 1923) * 2003 - Ken Gampu, South African actor (b. 1929) *2005 - Nadia Anjuman, Afghan poet and journalist (b. 1980) * 2005 - Sheree North, American actress and singer (b. 1932) *2006 - Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, American memoirist (Cheaper by the Dozen) (b. 1908) * 2006 - Frank Arthur Calder, Canadian politician (b. 1915) *2007 - Peter Viertel, German-American author and screenwriter (b. 1920) Holidays and observances *Panama's Flag Day * Italy - celebration of victory in World War I, the date of the Armed Forces * Russia - Day of People's Unity (or National Unity Day), concides with the feast of the Theotokos of Kazan. * Tonga's National Day, from 2006. *Roman festivals - start of the Ludi Plebeii *Roman Catholic Saints - Feast day of the following Roman Catholic saints: **Saint Charles Borromeo **St. Emeric **St. Vitalis * Feast of Our Lady of Kazan in Russian Orthodox Church * Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Qudrat (Power) - First day of the 13th month of the Bahá'í calendar External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:November